The most pointless, superfluous and routinely disregarded three-word phrase in the English language used to be "Level fill only", stencilled close to the rim of your nearest overflowing skip of builders' rubbish.

"Interim Chelsea manager" is a new and similarly unnecessary classification that suggests some of the past half-dozen Chelsea managers might have been permanent, or that once this transitional season is out of the way the real, long-term deal will be unveiled at Stamford Bridge.

Given that Chelsea managed to get shot of José Mourinho after three and a bit seasons that included two league titles in his first two years, it appears that any manager Roman Abramovich appoints will be on an interim basis, so why should the next one – ie, the one for whom Rafa Benítez is keeping the seat warm – be any different?

Does anyone seriously imagine that if Chelsea manage to land Pep Guardiola – and that is still a sizeable if – he will properly get his feet under the table and stick around at the Bridge for a decade or so? What if he doesn't adapt all that quickly to English football, or finds it harder to communicate with a cosmopolitan squad than he did with the resources on offer at the club he grew up with in Barcelona? Manchester City are supposedly eyeing Guardiola as well, but there is obviously a risk with a manager who has enjoyed all his success with one club in a country that happens to be leading the world. Guardiola might take to English football as readily as Mourinho and, er, Benítez, though there is at least a chance he might not, or might need more time, and if he does that at Chelsea he will join the interim list.

Does Abramovich really want 10 years of stability anyway, because his recent record of impatience hardly suggests it. Going through nine managers in eight years tends to make the best in the business, people who might reasonably require three or four seasons to lay down solid foundations, think twice before signing up for the circus. Presumably Abramovich knows that, but isn't bothered. Maybe managerial stability is overrated, something for clubs who have to make ends meet to put their faith in. For most clubs, hiring and firing managers is an expensive and wasteful business, because your new man will come in and spend time and money dismantling the work of his predecessor, but if Abramovich can afford all that upheaval without flinching – and he has been generous with financial settlements to sacked managers – it is possible he enjoys operating a zero tolerance policy towards failure in the hope that by reaching ever upwards the team will eventually be improved.

The trouble with that idea is it is the opposite of the ethos that has flourished at Barcelona this past decade or so, so sending for Guardiola may not be the most logical progression. It is easy to admire the Barcelona system, but it is not something Guardiola will be able to bring to London in his top pocket. It took the Catalans years to put what they currently have in place. It did not come about through a simple change of manager. The Spanish system of producing players is years ahead of the English model, and Barcelona is the club, or one of the two clubs, to which the very best aspire. The question, if Abramovich is as keen on Guardiola as reports suggest, is whether he intends to import Barcelona's self-replenishing football programme to this country, which is a project that would take years, or whether he wants to hire the guy with the biggest reputation in world football in the hope that he can make the sort of immediate impact Mourinho did eight years ago.

Many would guess the latter, since Abramovich seems to care little for long-term plans or solutions, which is why Guardiola may not be the shoo-in everyone thinks. He does have the biggest reputation in world football, as did Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti and to a lesser extent Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and André Villas-Boas in their time, but of that illustrious list only Mourinho scored an instant bullseye by judiciously and expensively strengthening a side that was already doing well under Claudio Ranieri.

Given that Mourinho is a lively character and a football genius – winning his second European Cup with the perennially underachieving Internazionale proved that – it could be that Abramovich got his choice of manager spot on first time round and has spent thepast five years desperately casting around for someone nearly as good. While one could examine the results of the various contests between Guardiola's Barcelona and Mourinho's Real Madrid in recent years and conclude that Guardiola has the upper hand, that does not necessarily make him the best manager, the most adaptable, or the obvious choice for Chelsea. Mourinho, who has proved he can switch countries and achieve almost instant success, remains the go-to man for swift improvement, as long as you are prepared to put up with his stunts and occasional silliness.

Not everybody wants that. Barcelona didn't fancy Mourinho, Real Madrid took a while to get used to him, and those who imagine Old Trafford might be Mourinho's next destination are warned that Manchester United would rather have a serious football man than a showman. With Mourinho you get both, with Guardiola you get more serious than show, so take your pick. If Guardiola is interested in working in England, and three of the top jobs could be available soon, United would make the best fit, though it is City who have moved to bring in his old chief executive and director of football from Barcelona.

Chelsea remain the best fit for Mourinho, though whether he would consider going back is another matter. Abramovich could always move for Steve Clarke instead. One imagines Chelsea have noticed that a former employee is sitting third in the table, occupying a Champions League place, doing rather better at West Bromwich Albion than Roberto Di Matteo did. It is unlikely that Abramovich will desist from stalking the big game of European football management to place his faith in a promising Brit who has served his apprenticeship in this country, but if West Brom stay above Chelsea for much longer in the Premier League table Clarke might get the nod as the next interim.